Green Line Contractor Told to Stop Work

With the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission poised to cancel its controversial contract for construction of the Metro Green Line on Wednesday, the commission’s executive director, Neil Peterson, has formally notified Sumitomo Corp. of America to stop work on the project.

The stop-work order, effective last Saturday, also applies to the companion contract for construction of a computerized train-control system. That opens the way for the commission to reconsider the use of driverless technology as well as the controversial selection of a foreign-owned company to build the system’s cars.

Stopping work on the projects is allowed under terms of the contracts, which took effect Dec. 18 when the commission formally chose the contractors. However, the commission is liable to pay for any work done in the month before work was canceled. No one has estimated the cost.

Peterson’s action, far more significant than his largely pro forma contract signing Jan. 9, is further indication of a fundamental policy shift by commission members. At least four swing votes on the 11-member board have indicated they want to solicit new bids to build the cars.

The fate of the driverless technology is much less certain because the commission appears almost evenly divided on the question.

The change of heart on the car-building contract came after extensive complaints by elected officials, labor leaders and the public. They have protested the selection of Japanese-owned Sumitomo Corp. to build the cars in Japan at a time of high local unemployment. Selection of Morrison-Knudsen, an American company and the only other bidder, would have created an additional 79 jobs in Los Angeles County.

“The public comments received since last month’s decision deserve to be reviewed and the commissioners want to discuss this at the next meeting,” said commission Chairman Ray Grabinski.

The Green Line, which would be the world’s fourth full-scale driverless transit system, is designed to run 23 miles from Norwalk to El Segundo, with a spur running next to Los Angeles International Airport. The cost has been estimated at $1 billion.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), a vocal critic of the existing Green Line plan, applauded Peterson for suspending the contract.

“It makes perfect sense to put this contract on hold until (Wednesday) when the LACTC should kill it for good,” said Katz, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee. State grants will cover about 25% of the Green Line’s cost, with the remainder coming from local sales-tax surcharges.

Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky said the commission clearly responded to public pressure by stopping the contract, “but the public should not be satisfied until the Transportation Commission rescinds its previous contracting decision and opens the Green Line up to entirely new bids.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, another Green Line critic, said he intends to lead a rally outside the Temple Street entrance of the county Hall of Administration at 11 a.m. Wednesday, an hour before the commission board is scheduled to meet inside.

Katz, who is considering running in next year’s mayoral contest, has suggested that the project be put out for bid again as a non-automated system, with a requirement that the winning contractor do at least 75% of the work in Los Angeles County.

It is not clear if that goal is achievable without first establishing a local broad-based transit industry--a proposal that commission board member Nick Patsaouras has advocated since last summer, but one that could take years to achieve.

In seeking to have the line running by the end of 1994, the original Green Line contracts required bidders to do at least 10% of their work in Los Angeles County. Sumitomo has agreed to do 12.5% of the work locally, Morrison-Knudsen promised 16%. Both companies said they would establish a local assembly plant.

Construction difficulties, such as the need to dig foundations in soil laced with explosive methane gas and the need to devise a safe and affordable airport spur, already have pushed back the opening of the line to mid-1995.

They have also bumped up the price, originally budgeted at $814 million, to something close to $1 billion. A firm estimate cannot be determined until the airport route is known and contracts are put out to bid.

Seeking new bidders on the car-building contract would be likely to delay the project for several additional months. Throwing out the driverless feature and re-engineering the system’s basic technology could further push back a start date.

In earlier meetings, staff engineers and consultants estimated that delays will add at least $2 million a month to the cost of the cars alone.